Published December 1, 2009
THE DAILY each day this week is presenting the results from the fifth annual SportsBusiness Daily/SportsBusiness Journal readers survey on the state of the sports industry. Today, we look at an overview of teams and leagues, the NFL and MLB. Turnkey Sports & Entertainment partnered with SBD/SBJ on the survey.
TEAMS AND LEAGUES
| Most effective commissioner/top executive: |
 |
Roger Goodell (NFL) |
54.50%
|
 |
David Stern (NBA) |
19.33%
|
|
Bud Selig (MLB) |
9.00%
|
|
Gary Bettman (NHL) |
4.68%
|
|
Don Garber (MLS) |
3.49%
|
| Responses: 1,345 |
| Property/organization with the most growth potential: |
|
MLS |
18.57%
|
|
NHL |
15.24%
|
|
UFC |
11.22%
|
|
NCAA |
7.73%
|
|
X Games |
6.52%
|
| Responses: 1,319 |
| In five years, the WPS (Womens Professional Soccer) will be: |
|
Folded |
60.13%
|
|
A league with fewer teams |
30.48%
|
|
A successful national property |
9.39%
|
| Responses: 1,342 |
| Most effective PR operation: |
|
NFL |
50.19%
|
|
NBA |
12.26%
|
|
MLB |
10.76%
|
|
NASCAR |
8.80%
|
|
NHL |
5.19%
|
| Responses: 1,329 |
|
| Least effective commissioner/top executive: |
|
Gary Bettman (NHL) |
19.68%
|
|
Bud Selig (MLB) |
17.93%
|
|
Larry Probst (USOC) |
12.28%
|
|
Donna Orender (WNBA) |
10.45%
|
|
Marty Evans (LPGA Tour)* |
9.00%
|
* Evans was acting commissioner at the time of the survey. Michael Whan has since been named commissioner.
Responses: 1,311 |
| Will UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) continue to grow in mainstream acceptance or has it peaked as a sports property? |
|
Continue to grow |
46.04%
|
|
Has peaked |
42.84%
|
|
Will decline |
11.12%
|
| Responses: 1,340 |
| Property/organization most likely to fold within the next five years: |
|
UFL |
27.13%
|
|
WNBA |
24.57%
|
|
WPS |
6.11%
|
|
NLL |
5.33%
|
|
MLL |
5.18%
|
| Responses: 1,294 |
| Least effective PR operation: |
|
NHL |
14.60%
|
|
WNBA |
11.38%
|
|
LPGA |
11.15%
|
|
Indy Racing League |
8.76%
|
|
MLB |
7.53%
|
| Responses: 1,301 |
|
NFL
| Most effective team owner: |
|
Robert Kraft (New England Patriots) |
32.63%
|
|
Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys) |
24.89%
|
|
Dan Rooney * (Pittsburgh Steelers) |
14.68%
|
|
John Mara/Steve Tisch (New York Giants) |
7.29%
|
|
Publicly owned, nonprofit corp. (Green Bay Packers) |
4.65%
|
* Ownership of the Steelers now spans members of the Rooney family and a group of outside investors.
Responses: 1,097 |
| Biggest challenge facing the NFL in the year ahead: |
|
Maintaining labor peace |
56.78%
|
|
Addressing economic disparity between teams |
15.55%
|
|
Compensation for retired players |
9.31%
|
| Responses: 1,106 |
| Most likely scenario for the NFL's schedule within the next five years: |
|
Two more regular-season games |
39.86%
|
|
Same number of regular-season games |
31.07%
|
|
One more regular-season game |
29.08%
|
| Responses: 1,104 |
|
| Least effective team owner: |
|
Al Davis (Oakland Raiders) |
32.44%
|
|
William Clay Ford (Detroit Lions) |
14.46%
|
|
Daniel Snyder (Washington Redskins) |
11.86%
|
|
Randy Lerner (Cleveland Browns) |
6.86%
|
|
Chip Rosenbloom/Lucia Rodriguez (St. Louis Rams) |
6.49%
|
| Responses: 1,079 |
| Will the NFL and players agree on a new labor deal by March in time to avoid an uncapped season in 2010? |
|
No |
59.85%
|
|
Yes |
40.15%
|
| Responses: 1,101 |
| How does media scrutiny of the NFL compare to other leagues regarding the issue of performance-enhancing drugs? |
|
Somewhat less scrutiny |
35.24%
|
|
Much less scrutiny |
34.96%
|
|
Same scrutiny |
14.95%
|
|
Somewhat more scrutiny |
9.51%
|
|
Much more scrutiny |
5.34%
|
| Responses: 1,104 |
| Most marketable player: |
|
Peyton Manning |
49.58%
|
|
Tom Brady |
18.91%
|
|
Adrian Peterson |
8.90%
|
|
Brett Favre |
6.39%
|
|
Mark Sanchez |
4.73%
|
| Responses: 1,079 |
|
MLB
| Most effective team owner: |
|
John Henry/Tom Werner (Boston Red Sox) |
30.93%
|
|
George Steinbrenner* (New York Yankees) |
28.72%
|
|
Arte Moreno (Los Angeles Angels) |
10.56%
|
|
Bill Giles/David Montgomery (Philadelphia Phillies) |
6.22%
|
|
William DeWitt Jr. (St. Louis Cardinals) |
4.26%
|
* George Steinbrenner remains the principal owner and chairman of the Yankees, but his son Hal is the club's managing general partner and co-chairman.
Responses: 1,222 |
| Biggest challenge facing MLB in the year ahead: |
|
Revenue and payroll disparity |
33.87%
|
|
Steroids and drug testing |
25.06%
|
|
Ticket sales |
15.20%
|
|
Maintaining labor peace |
8.00%
|
|
Increasing global appeal of the game |
6.06%
|
|
Sponsorship sales |
4.93%
|
|
Growing ad revenue and distribution at MLB Network |
4.77%
|
| Responses: 1,237 |
| Grade MLB and MLBPA's handling of the issue of performance-enhancing drugs: |
|
C |
29.69%
|
|
D |
28.07%
|
|
F |
22.33%
|
|
B |
15.94%
|
|
A |
3.96%
|
| Responses: 1,236 |
|
| Least effective team owner: |
|
Bob Nutting (Pittsburgh Pirates) |
24.12%
|
|
Ted Lerner (Washington Nationals) |
13.69%
|
|
Peter Angelos (Baltimore Orioles) |
11.35%
|
|
David Glass (Kansas City Royals) |
8.01%
|
|
Fred Wilpon (New York Mets) |
6.93%
|
| Responses: 1,198 |
| Most marketable player: |
|
Derek Jeter |
52.83%
|
|
Albert Pujols |
22.46%
|
|
Joe Mauer |
5.24%
|
|
Alex Rodriguez |
3.74%
|
|
Chase Utley |
3.08%
|
| Responses: 1,202 |
| State of MLB now compared with five years ago: |
|
Stronger property |
39.98%
|
|
About the same |
28.27%
|
|
Weaker property |
20.19%
|
|
Much stronger property |
10.02%
|
|
Much weaker property |
1.53%
|
| Responses: 1,238 |
|
